Pope Leo to Publish AI Encyclical With Anthropic Co-Founder
Encyclical Magnifica Humanitas addresses protection of the human person in the age of AI, to be launched May 25 with Anthropic co-founder Christopher Olah present.
FortunePope Leo launches an AI commission days before he releases a papal letter alongside Anthropic cofounder Christopher Olah | Fortune
The GuardianPope Leo to issue text on human dignity and AI with Anthropic co-founder
GizmodoThe Pope Is Hooking Up With a Co-Founder of Anthropic for Collab on AI
New York PostPope and co-founder of Anthropic to launch pontiff’s AI encyclical on May 25
Overview
Pope Leo will present his first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, at the Vatican on May 25 with Anthropic co-founder Christopher Olah among the lay speakers.
Leo signed the encyclical on May 15, 135 years after Pope Leo XIII signed Rerum Novarum, linking the AI discussion to the Industrial Revolution's social questions.
The Vatican approved a new commission on artificial intelligence on May 16 to coordinate AI work across the Roman Curia, and Cardinal Michael Czerny said it will help address AI challenges for the Church and the world.
The Vatican issued internal AI guidelines effective Jan. 1, 2025 requiring disclosure of AI-generated content, banning AI that conflicts with the Church's mission, and establishing a five-member internal AI compliance commission.
Anthropic, which said its valuation grew to $380 billion, is suing the Trump administration after the administration ordered U.S. agencies to stop using Anthropic's technology and imposed other penalties, making the pope's Anthropic tie politically sensitive.
Analysis
Center-leaning sources frame the Vatican’s move as cautious moral leadership on AI, emphasizing risks to dignity, labor, and children through evaluative phrasing and selective emphasis on Vatican voices. They foreground dramatic warnings and institutional responses while omitting pro-AI industry perspectives, casting the commission as a corrective, organized Church voice.